Different
by Katerix
Summary: Draco has a sister. She's autistic. Draco loves her more than life. Blaise comes to visit. Romance raises its head. Story is from the POV of Draco's sister.
1. Chapter 1

_Just something I came up with, while I was drunk…so go easy on me…if you guys like the FF, I might drink more often...lol…please review!_

**Disclaimer:** All characters belong to Rowling.

There is always noise in the background: the swishing of cloaks, the scraping of chairs, the chirping of birds, the sniveling of house elves, Father's rants, the death threats, the hooting of owls, the chattering of the portraits, the ticking of the clock, the noise that deafens and I cannot hear what is being said to me.

I see smoke, thick grey moustaches, over which I can see the tops of the trees, and the shoe-box like buildings standing vertically in a very untidy manner. The clouds above dip down and touch the rising fog. I see nothing, yet my eyes are strained.

Today, from the morning, I have been sitting at my yellow circular window, and looking down at the street below, with its pedestrians and cars like little red ants swarming around an ant-hill. Behind me, two ladies are sitting and gossiping. One of them is the sweet smelling lady who calls herself Mother, and the other is a new one, with flowers all over her dress.

Her dress hurts my eyes; the shapes of the flowers are distorted as the daisies and lilies loom large over her body. Sometimes, I hear them speaking about me, as if I am not in the room and cannot hear them. I can almost feel their fingers in my hair or else pointing at me, while they whisper tales that they have fabricated in their oppressed brains.

I see myself on my bed, curled up like a foetus, waiting to be ensconced in a warm embrace. But I don't know whom to turn to. They are all so busy among themselves. Is it my fault that I paired the chromosomes in such a way that makes me incapable of reaching out? Yes, it is about reaching out. I stretch my hands in front of me, and I feel the emptiness of the air. I touch myself and feel the smooth softness of my cheeks.

My brother came home today. I like it when he gets sweets for me: Honeydukes chocolate, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Pumpkin Pasties, Jelly Slugs, Chocolate Frogs, Sugar Quills, and Liquorice Wands. He puts them is separate brown paper packages neatly lined up on my shelf. He never brings me Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, because he knows that I don't like them. I don't like sweets of different colours and tastes in one box. There hurt me at the back of my eyes and gave me a splitting headache.

I like to sit beside my brother, and look at his books. He never holds me tight, and I like that. His books smell nice too. They do not hurt my eyes.

"Mistress Malfoy, your dinner," says Tipsy, as she brings out my dinner on a large tray and puts it before me. I like Tipsy better than the other house elves, because she always knows how I like my food. The green peas must never touch the roast beef, and she knows that. That's why Father has told her to take care of my meals for me.

Mother does not like me to eat dinner with everyone else in the dining room, when she has guests. I can't say I blame her, because the last time I had dinner at the table, when Mrs. Parkinson and her daughter had come, I had thrown mashed potato at her girl, Pansy, because she was making faces at me. Draco told me later that Pansy was not making faces; her face was simply like that.

Now that my brother is home, I will be able to sleep in his room. I don't like my room since the house elves changed its picture, and shifted the bed to face the wall. I cannot see the stars out of the yellow circular window.

"So, how are your lessons going, Ebbie?" says my brother to me. I like it when he speaks to me. When everyone else speaks, they throw strings of words at me that echo back and forth in the tunnels of my ears, and knock about in my brain. I smile at him and he gets his answer.

"You know, tomorrow, one of my friends is coming to stay with us for a week," says Draco. I hoped that it wasn't one of those big, stupid sacks of potatoes that had once come to stay. "His name is Blaise Zabini. I think you'll like him, Ebbie. Mother knows his mum well."

I wish Mother knew me. I wish she would talk to me, not talk about me. I found her crying once, when I was three, and I went to her, and held her hand. She pushed me away, and went up to her bedchamber. Draco told me when I was nine that she was crying because I was different. The Healer told her that I was square and they were round. But it unsettles me. I want to be part of the pattern; for all patterns intrigue me and I hate disorder.

"Don't worry, I'm square too," Draco had said, when he was ten, "You mustn't worry. I will always love you, no matter what." I had held on to his finger, like I always did, to tell him that I loved him.

When, Draco had turned eleven, he had gone away to Hogwarts. Father had not let me go, even though Dumbledore had told him that I could come. Father had kept a teacher at home, to teach me magic. And when my brother came back for the holidays, he had helped me practice.

Since then, every year, whenever Draco went to school, I had practiced hard with my magic, hoping to show Father that I could cope up with the standard of Hogwarts. But then Draco told me that Father would not send me, no matter what I did. So Draco had got me a pet cat instead, to keep me company while he went to Hogwarts. Three years had passed since then. Draco was in his fourth year now.

"Let's go to sleep, now, Ebbie," said Draco, pulling me into bed. I did not know how I would survive when he went away again. But survive I must, I have no choice. Just like I had none, when I was ripped out and left alone in this world, on the floor of a dark musty jungle, a sounding cacophony, and a collective sigh that reverberated in the confines within.

_Please review…Blaise comes in the next chapter…hope you liked it so far!_


	2. Chapter 2

The New Boy

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The HP world.

'Master Malfoy, there's visitors to see you,' says Dopey. His name is Dopey because his eyes look sleepy and tired as if he's been doped. He's the oldest house elf we have.

'Show them in,' says Father. Dopey disappears and emerges with a tall black man and a boy who's about Draco's age. 'Mr. Zabini and Mr. Zabini,' says Dopey with a bow.

The boy is staring at me. I steal a glance at him, and he looks away. He is tall, with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes.

'Hey Blaise,' says Draco, entering the room. 'You've already met Father and Mother. This is my sister, Ebony, you may call her Ebbie.'

'Hello Ebony, I'm Blaise,' says the tall black boy, holding out his hand towards me.

I turn away. Draco whispers something to him. 'Look at what Blaise got you, Ebbie,' he says to me.

The boy called Blaise holds out a blue something made of cloth. 'It's a Communication Hat. You put it on, and it reads your mind. If you want to say anything, it says so for you. See, I'll put it on.'

Draco puts on the hat. 'Try it, Ebbie,' the hat says in Draco's voice. Draco takes it off and puts it on my head.

A second later the blue hat says, 'It covers my ears, take it off.'

Draco takes off the hat and says to me, 'Here, keep it. Put it on, if you want to talk.'

Draco leaves with his friend to give him a tour of the manor. Father is talking to Mr. Zabini.

I go to the library and take off a storybook from the shelf. I sit down and begin reading. I like the library. Hardly anyone ever comes in here. I'm glad I can sit in here alone. Whenever there are people in the room, I am compelled to stare at a patch of the floor in front of me.

I can look out of the window and see the lawns. There is a big wild cherry tree planted just outside. Once when I was eight, I had climbed out of the window, and onto the tall branches of the cherry tree. Draco had brought me down on his broomstick. Father had scolded me for it.

I hear footsteps. 'And this is the library,' says Draco, 'Oh Ebbie, you're here. You don't mind if we sit here for sometime, do you?'

I don't answer. I never do. Draco and the boy sit down and talk about school. I take out a piece of paper and start drawing the scene out of the window. A blue sky. White clouds. A green sun.

'Draw a yellow sun,' says the boy. I feel like telling him that I know my colours. But my lips don't form the words. The sun is not yellow, it's green. The boy is lying. Perhaps he is jealous of my smooth cheeks.

'Draco! Come here a minute,' comes Mother's voice. Draco leaves. I wish he wouldn't leave me alone with this strange boy.

The boy gets up to look at the shelves. I don't like it when people are walking behind me, so I get up and also walk among the shelves. But I walk in the other direction, not in the one the boy went. I like picking up the books, opening them and smelling them. Father once said that some of these books have been here since before our great grandfathers. But some look even older.

I close my eyes and run my fingers along the stacked books, feeling the texture of the volumes. My fingers touch something soft. The boy is standing before me. His fingers are touching mine. He withdraws his hand quickly. I reach out and touch his cheeks. I want to know if they are soft like mine.

I look at his hands. They are darker than mine. I reach out and interlock my fingers with his. I hold them up in the sunlight. Our hands look beautiful together.

'Hey!' says Draco from behind.

'Yeah?' says the boy, releasing his hand from my grip at once.

'Mother is asking us to come down for tea,' says Draco, 'you too, Ebbie.' This was unusual. Mother did not like me to have tea with everyone, especially when there were visitors. I followed Draco and the boy downstairs.

Dopey serves everyone tea. I peer into my cup of milkless tea to see whether I can see the sugar crystals at the bottom. I put my cup down on the coffee table, and push it away. The boy looks at me.

'What is it now?' says Father. I feel my face becoming hot.

'Tipsy, get your mistress some more tea, and mix the sugar properly,' says Draco. He always knows what I want.

Tipsy gets me tea in a fresh cup. The sugar has been dissolved completely. I look at the crack in my cup, meandering into my tea. I make sure my lips don't touch the crack before taking a sip.

Draco is talking with the new boy about Quidditch. Father is reading the Daily Prophet. Mother is reading a magazine.

At night, while I am getting ready for bed, Draco after showing Blaise his room, comes to me and says quietly, 'Ebbie, do you like Blaise?'

I don't answer. He takes up the blue hat the boy got me and puts it on my head. Then he repeats his question.

'He has beautiful hands,' the hat says.

Draco smiles and says, 'Let's go to sleep.'

_Review please!_


	3. Chapter 3

What the Healer Said

**Disclaimer: **The HP world belongs to Rowling, not me.

I am picking daisies in the garden. Their petals are soft. Draco and the boy are strolling some distance away and talking. If Draco had been alone, I would have gone walking with him. But I don't want the other boy to look at me. I wish Draco had not invited this boy to stay with us. He stays with his friends all year round at school. Why can't he stay with me, at home? Maybe he doesn't enjoy my company much. After all, I hardly ever talk to him.

So, I walk around on the other end of the garden, picking flowers. I hear a buzzing sound. I look around trying to find where it's coming from. A bee is sitting on a white flower. I must approach carefully. The butterflies always fly away. This bee mustn't.

I pick the flower it is sitting on. It flies towards my face. My cheek is stinging. I feel like telling the bee, 'Why did you bite me? I only wanted to see you.' But it has flown away. I feel my cheek. It has swollen. It burns more than when Father slapped me for drawing on the walls.

I look around for Draco. I can't see him. My vision is blurry. There are tears in my eyes.

I see the other boy walking near the cherry tree. Maybe Draco is nearby. I walk up to him.

'Hi, Ebony!' he says, looking at me, 'Er…why are you crying?'

All my life, I never understood the meaning of "er." The boy is looking closely at my cheek.

'Draco,' I say softly.

'What?' he asks.

'Draco,' I repeat.

'Oh Draco, he's somewhere around. Do you want me to call him?'

'Draco,' I say again. Why can't the boy understand that I want to see Draco? Why must he ask me so many questions?

I turn away to go and look for Draco myself. My cheek is feeling numb. I see Draco coming.

'Hey, Blaise! There you are!' he says.

Then he looks at me.

'What happened, Ebbie? Are you hurt? Why are you crying?' he says.

'She was saying your name again and again,' says the boy.

'She was? She hasn't spoken in weeks!' says Draco.

I feel very angry. All Draco cares about is me speaking. Why does everyone always want me to speak? What am I supposed to say? I feel like singing, but my voice does not form the tunes in my head, I feel like drawing, but the colours merge into swirling shapes as an oil film on water. How can I separate the thoughts from my visions and arrange them in words. They want me to talk, but I keep talking in unheard sounds. How can I communicate with them who do not feel the impulse of the moment?

Draco comes near me, and lifts up my face with his hand.

'Her cheek has swollen. Something's stung her,' he says.

'I think I know what to do,' says the boy.

He points his wand at me. I cringe. The last time father had pointed his wand at me it had hurt very much. I get puzzled when Father makes different faces at me, he pulls his lips in a line or his eyebrows come together on his forehead. That is not the face I know. I am scared then.

The boy mutters something and the pain on my cheek vanishes. I touch my cheek. The swelling has gone.

'Thanks, Blaise,' says Draco.

I smile at the boy. He smiles back.

'Listen, Ebbie,' says Draco, 'Father is calling you inside. Healer Watkins is here to see you.'

Draco holds my hand and leads me back inside the house. The boy is following us.

Healer Watkins is sitting in the living room. I enter the room.

'Here she is, Mr. Watkins,' says Father.

Healer Watkins walks up to me and smiles.

'How are you Ms. Malfoy?' he says. I don't answer.

'Still reluctant to speak I see. Has she spoken since then?'

'I'm afraid not,' says Father.

'She has,' says Draco, 'She spoke today.'

'And what did she say?' says the Healer.

'My name, just my name,' says Draco.

'Well, I suppose you can't tell me when my daughter's going to recover from this muggle disorder?' says Father. His voice is rising. I sense trouble.

'Mr. Malfoy,' says the Healer, 'Autism is not a muggle disorder. It is one of the few psychological disorders that affect both muggles and wizards. It cannot be cured; I've told you so, Mr. Malfoy. However, it can be managed and with professional help, your daughter can be taught to be independent.'

'Independent? She doesn't even say her spells out loud. She sits in the library all day or in her room by her window, rocking to and fro. She throws food at guests. How the hell is she going to be independent?' says Father.

Draco holds my hand. He knows I don't like being discussed.

'Mr. Malfoy, calm down. I understand completely. I have brought with me some potions which Ms. Malfoy must take daily. They will help her to trust others around her and convey her thoughts to them. Now, you mentioned that she sits alone in the library? That's not right. She mustn't be left alone. There must be people around her always; you must keep talking to her. Only then will she make an effort to come out of her shell. And I recommend taking her to meet new people too. Perhaps young Master Malfoy can take her along to some friends of his. It will be good for her to meet her peers.'

'She's not setting a foot out of this house. Do you know what people say about her? They say she's insane, mad. I'm not having her tarnish the Malfoy honour,' says Father angrily.

'Mr. Malfoy, she's your daughter. Don't you think her happiness matters much more than your family's reputation? And besides, I don't think any decent, civilized section of our society could call her mad,' says the Healer.

'Look, I don't want you to come here any more. When I brought her to you, you said that you would cure her. You can just get out of my house, THIS MINUTE!' shouts Father.

I hate it when Father shouts. Draco is trying to restrain Father. Mother is crying. I put my hands over my ears to shut out the noise, and run out of the room into the library. The boy follows me.

_Review please!_


	4. Chapter 4

Dancing in the Rain

**Disclaimer:** I'm not Rowling.

My wrists are hurting. I scratched them with my fingernails. Blood oozes out of the scratches. I scratch them more. More blood. I look at my nails and see my blood on them.

I hate being discussed in front of people. Why must father shout so? His words are echoing in my head still. I start banging my head against the cupboards in the library. A couple of books fall out. But the noise in my head does not stop. I hit my head again on the cupboard.

I hear footsteps behind me. Maybe it is Draco. I turn around. The boy is standing before me. He steps forward. I back away.

'Go!' I say.

He doesn't move. 'Go!' I repeat.

Why can't this boy listen? He is staring at my bleeding hands. I put my hands behind me. He steps towards me and pulls my hands from behind. His eyes widen at the sight of the blood. He points his wand at my wrists.

The blood vanishes and the scratches heal at once. I start scratching them again.

'Stop,' he says softly, holding my hands. I pause to listen to his voice. It sounds musical. I wish he would speak again. I look up at his face. He wipes my tears. His hand is on my face. I put my hand on his. He smiles at me and tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. His touch is so warm.

I don't answer. I want him to keep speaking. I love his voice.

'You have beautiful eyes,' he says. I don't listen to what he says, just to his voice. I want him to keep speaking. I love his voice. It takes my breath away.

His face looks as soft as his voice. I extend my hand towards his face and touch his cheeks. His black skin stretches under my pale hands. I close my eyes. I want to feel his voice. I move my fingers over his lips. His warm breath grazes my fingertips. I feel his lips smiling. I smile too.

I open my eyes and withdraw my hand to feel my own cheeks. They're as soft as his. He reaches out and takes my hand away from my face. Then he leans in and kisses me on the cheek, whispering my name. After he pulls away, I touch the moist imprint on my cheek.

I hear footsteps coming towards the library. Instinctively, the boy backs away. Draco enters the library.

'You're okay, Ebbie?' he asks.

I don't answer.

'Listen, Ebbie, you can come downstairs now. Father has gone out,' continues Draco.

But I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, and replay the last ten minutes again in my mind. For the first time, I wish Draco would go away.

I go and sit at the table by the window. Draco and the boy come and sit beside me. The boy is not looking at me or Draco. He is staring at the floor. His chin is almost touching his chest.

I see fat raindrops splatter against the window panes. I love dancing in the rain. It drowns my tears. I get up to go downstairs into the garden. I know Draco will not let me get wet in the rain. So I run downstairs as fast as I can.

'Ebbie! Wait!' I hear Draco behind me. I run down the stairs and out into the garden.

The rain caresses my face and trickles into my eyes as it pelts down on my body, soaking me thoroughly. My dress clings to my body as I spin around, taking in the smell of the rain washed grass. The sky is a dark angry grey. My troubles seem to melt away in the rain. The flowers seem to be dancing in happiness, as the rain pelts down on them. The ribbons in my hair blow in the wind. I hear the song the rain sings to me as I twirl around with my hands in the air.

I see Draco running towards me, with a hand sheltering his head.

'Come back inside, Ebbie! You'll catch a cold,' says Draco. He pulls me by the hand and walks towards the house. I don't want to leave.

'No,' I say.

'What do you mean no? You have to come inside,' he says impatiently, tugging at my dress. He takes me inside and shuts the door.

'Look at you, you're soaked,' scolds Draco.

The boy is standing some distance away, staring at me. His eyes are running over my body. I blush. Draco notices.

'Stop staring at her like that, you pervert!' says Draco, hitting the boy on the head.

'How many times have I told you not to wear that dress and go out into the rain? You can see right through it when it gets wet. You're almost fourteen, don't behave like a little girl,' says Draco.

I say nothing. The boy is still staring at me. I cannot look into his eyes. I nervously try to pull my dress away from my body, so that it can dry faster.

'Go upstairs to your room and change,' says Draco.

I obediently ascend the flight of stairs, water dripping down my neck.

After I change, I go back downstairs in the living room and sit by Draco. I wish that the boy would not stare at me. It makes me so nervous…

'Would you like to eat something?' asks Draco, offering me a sandwich.

I push his hand away. It is still raining. The rain pattering on the roof sounds like dancing feet, beckoning me to come and dance with them. I open the window and stretch my hand out. I cup my hand to catch some rainwater. Then I spread my fingers, and the water flows in between my fingers like every other bit of happiness I have ever had.

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	5. Chapter 5

Father's Rage

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

I am feeling very claustrophobic today. I wish father would let me go out of the house for a walk. I have been walking round and round in circles in our garden with the result that I am feeling very dizzy. I the lie down on the grass, and stretch my hands in the air above me.

Some distance away, under a huge tree, Draco and the boy are sitting and talking. The boy keeps shooting glances towards me. I get up. I want to join them, but don't know how to without them noticing. I walk towards them. Draco hears me coming, and looks around.

'Sit,' he says.

I sit down Indian style on the grass, and pull my dress as far as it would go, so that my thighs are covered. I take one look at the boy. His eyes are boring into mine. I look away at once. How I wish this boy would not stare at me.

I pick a blade of grass and twirl it round my finger. The boy is watching my every move. Draco does not seem to notice. I feel that the boy is hardly listening to what Draco is telling him about the Chudley Cannons.

'Why are you smiling?' Draco says to the boy.

The boy stops smiling at once. Draco looks once at me, and then back at the boy. Uh oh. Before Draco can say anything, I get up and walk towards the open gates. Draco resumes telling the boy about the Quidditch team.

The gates are open. Maybe I can sneak out, without anyone noticing, and go for a walk. I look around nervously. Draco and the boy are still talking; the boy can't see me any more, as he has his back to me. There is no one else nearby. I tiptoe towards the gate and walk out.

Which direction should I go in? Right or left or straight on? I take a step forwards. How wonderful it feels to be out of the house! I walk on, looking at the passers by on the lane. I walk for another five minutes, and then turn right.

As soon as I enter the lane, I realize what a big mistake I made by choosing this path. I see Father walking towards me, looking furious. Should I run? But where will I go? No, the best thing would be to wait for Father to reach me, and apologize immediately.

'What are you doing out of the house?' says Father in a low voice.

I don't answer. He grips my arm tightly, and we Disapparate back home. We are standing in my room. Father is glaring at me.

I back away immediately.

'How did you get out of the house?' says Father keeping his voice painfully calm.

I look at my feet.

'Answer me!' says Father loudly. 'How did you get out?'

'Gate was open,' I say.

'It was open was it?' says Father angrily. 'Tinker!' shouts Father.

Tinker, the house elf appears in the room.

Father points his wand at the elf and says menacingly, 'Why were the gates open?'

'M—Master, I didn't…' begins the elf, banging his head on the wall.

'Stop!' I say to the elf. Tinker stops at once.

'Go!' I say to him. Tinker disapparates.

Father turns to me and yells, 'HOW DARE YOU GO OUT WHEN I HAVE FORBIDDEN YOU!'

He steps towards me and strikes me on the cheek. I fall on the floor. My cheek is stinging. I bring my hand on my cheek and feel blood streaming down my neck. Tears form in my eyes. Father grabs my hair and pulls me up to face him. He looks very scary. His eyes have got a manic glint in them.

'Draco!' I scream as loud as I can, 'Draco!'

Father clutches my throat tightly. I can't breathe.

'WERE YOU SEEN?' shouts Father shaking in fury.

I don't answer.

'Father!' yells a voice behind him. Draco enters the room followed by the boy. Father releases his hold on me. I rush to Draco, and hide behind him.

Father advances towards me, his wand raised.

'Its my fault, Father!' says Draco spreading his arms to shield me. 'I let her out of my sight. Don't punish her. I'll see that she doesn't do it again.'

Father looks from Draco to me. 'She had better not,' he says as he leaves the room.

'Why'd you do that?' says Draco once Father has gone. 'You mustn't disobey Father, Ebbie.'

I don't answer.

'Promise me you won't do it again,' says Draco .

I hold his hand tightly to give him his answer.

'Now, I'm going to see where Father has gone,' says Draco, 'I'll be back in a few minutes.'

Draco makes to leave the room, but I cling on to his hand, not wanting to let go.

'I won't let it get that bad again, I swear,' says Draco softly. He walks out of the room.

Damn the boy. He's still staring at me. I turn away.

The boy strides over to me, and faces me once more. He waves his wand, and the cut on my face heals.

'You're hurt anywhere else?' he asks.

'I'm well in body, though considerably ruffled in spirit, thank you,' I say. That was the longest sentence I ever remember speaking. I feel proud of myself. I wish Draco could have heard me. The boy widens his eyes.

'Why do you stare?' I ask the boy, looking down at the floor. I steal a glance at his face and find him blushing.

He leans in towards my face, and touches my lips with his. No one has ever been so close to my body. He wraps his arms around my waist. A few seconds later he pulls away.

'That's why I stare,' says the boy smiling, his arms still around my waist. I don't know where to look.

'Hey!' yells Draco from behind.

The boy jumps apart from me.

'What were you doing!' says a fuming Draco glaring at the boy.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own HP.

'Hey!' yells Draco from behind.

The boy jumps apart from me.

'What were you doing!' says a fuming Draco glaring at the boy.

I blush furiously.

Draco whips out his wand.

'I leave the room for five minutes, and I come back to see you running your hands all over my sister,' says Draco angrily.

'You've got it all wrong, mate,' says the boy at once.

'Don't lie! I've seen you looking at her before too, you know,' says Draco, 'I didn't say anything because I thought that I was the one reading too much into it. Just because my sister is-is-I mean just because she doesn't defend herself, you think you can do whatever the hell you want?'

'It wasn't like that!' says the boy, but Draco ignores him.

'Are you alright, Ebbie?' says Draco turning to me, 'I'm so sorry, I'll make sure he never comes near you again.'

I want to explain to Draco, but I don't know how. What am I to explain? I don't know how to put my feelings into words.

'Draco, listen to what I have to say,' says the boy at last.

'You really have anything to say after what I just caught you doing?' says Draco, 'Are you going to tell me that I am the one who's overreacting, and I saw wrong and you were actually standing ten feet apart from her?'

'No!' says the boy, 'I just want to tell you that...well, I...I have feelings for your sister...'

'Well of course you would say that!' says Draco fiercely, 'Where are your feelings? In your pants? Is that what this is about? Its always about that, isn't it? It was like that when you hooked up with my girlfriend!'

'Draco, that was over a year ago, you both had broken up, and I was drunk,' says the boy, 'And you know how sorry I am for that. Besides, Pansy was-is a bitch. You know that.'

'She may have been one, but not my sister, ok?' says Draco, 'I won't stand by and watch while you...'

'Let me finish,' says the boy, 'Your sister likes me too, Draco. You can ask her, if you don't believe me.'

Draco looks at me. 'Is this true?' Draco says to me in a gritted voice.

I nod.

'Get out of my house!' says Draco to the boy.

'No!' I say loudly.

'You be quiet!' says Draco to me.

'Mate, I really think...' began the boy.

'Shut up! You've done enough,' says Draco, 'Get out, and don't you ever talk to me again.'

The boy leaves the room.

'You can't do this,' I say pacing up and down the room as I always do whenever I am upset.

Draco narrows his eyes at me.

'I like him!' I shout.

'Well, you are crazy!' yells Draco in my face, 'That's what everyone says. That's why Father's mad at you and that's why Mother keeps crying. And that's why we have to keep taking you to St. Mungo's. ITS BECAUSE YOU'RE MAD!'

'I'm not mad!' I scream and run out of the room.

I run as fast as I can towards the library. Draco's words are still echoing in my ears. I hear running footsteps following me. I expect its Draco.

I run faster. I know Draco will eventually catch up with me. I'm not really trying to run from him. I just want to make it a little harder to reach me. I know he wants to say sorry.

'Wait!' cries Draco from behind me. I skid across the hallway, and disappear round the corner.

'WAIT!' yells Draco panting.

This reminds me of when I was six. I would run around the whole house, while Draco would try and catch me. Then Father would suddenly emerge out of a room and yell himself hoarse at us. As I think of this, a smile plays on my lips. Then I remember why i'm running, and what Draco said to me, and how he turned the boy out of the house, and my smile vanishes.

'Stop!' says Draco catching hold of my sleeve. I turn around to face him.

'I'm sorry,' says Draco.

I narrow my eyes.

'I'm sorry for what I said to you,' he says, 'You know its not true, not one bit.'

I glare at Draco.

'I know what you are thinking,' says Draco, 'You're thinking why I turned Blaise out of the house. Listen Ebbie, he's not a nice guy, okay. Trust me when I say that.'

'He's your friend,' I say.

'I know,' says Draco, 'I suppose, I'm not a nice guy either. At least not at school. Well, Blaise- and I are sort of partners in crime. And when it comes to girls, he can't be trusted. He can be charming when he need to be.'

I shake my head.

'I know you don't believe me,' says Draco, 'But its the truth. At Hogwarts, he hooks up with a different girl every week...'

'Then he's changed now,' I say.

I don't think so,' says Draco. Just at that moment, a house elf appears in the hallway.

'Mistress Malfoy, your Father wishes to speak with you,' he says.

I exchange glances with Draco.

'What did you do now?' says Draco. I shake my head, and follow the house elf towards father's room. Draco follows us.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** i own nothing.

I knock on Father's door.

'Enter,' comes Father's voice. I enter the room.

'Sit,' he says pointing to the couch. I obey him.

'Now,' says Father towering in front of me, ' I have called you here to tell you that I have decided to let you go to Hogwarts.'

I don't believe my ears.

'I have owled Professor Dumbledore, and he says that you can come,' says Father, 'Term starts from the 1st of September. That's next week. As you know, Draco is starting his fifth year. You will be placed with the fourth years since you are a year younger than him.'

He pauses to catch breath. I look up at him.

'You are to get yourself sorted into Slytherin,' says Father, 'You are to do your best in school, but most of all, you are to stay away from Harry Potter. Do not make me regret my decision. Do you understand?'

I nod.

'Now, Draco will take you tomorrow to Diagon Alley,' continues Father, 'He will get you your books, quills, robes and anything else you might need.'

I nod once more.

'You may go now,' says Father. I get up to leave, positively shivering with excitement.

Once I leave the room, I go straight to Draco's room and tell him the news.

'I don't believe it!' he says frowning, 'He never even let you step out of the house before and suddenly...'

He breaks off.

'Hang on,' he says, 'I know exactly why he's sending you.'

I look at Draco.

'It's because the Dark Lord has returned,' says Draco, 'Ebbie, you remember what I told you about what happened over the summer? About Potter, and how he got transported into the graveyard and how the Dark Lord couldn't finish him?'

I nod.

'Well,' says Draco, 'From what Father told me, the Dark lord wasn't exactly happy with Father. You see, when The Dark lord vanished, none of his followers tried to find him. That's why he was angry with Father. And that's why Father's sending you to Hogwarts, because everyone knows that Hogwarts is the safest place in all of England. Father doesn't care for your happiness. He isn't sending you to make you happy. He's sending you to keep you safe.'

He falls silent. I don't understand. What does it matter why Father's sending me? It doesn't change the fact that I'll be going to Hogwarts. I'll be with Draco throughout the year. And also, I'll be with..

'Let's go to sleep,' says Draco, 'We have to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow.'

I make my way to my room, and lie down on my bed. I can't stop thinking of Hogwarts. All those things that Draco told me. I'll actually see them for myself!

The next day, I wake up early and get dressed to go to Diagon Alley with Draco. After breakfast, Draco and I floo to Diagon Alley to buy our school supplies.

'Look at this,' says Draco fishing out a handful of galleons from his pocket, 'Father gave me about fifty galleons extra to buy anything I wanted. Just because I've been made a prefect! Oh I can't wait to get Potter and his friends now that I have a Prefect's badge.'

I wonder why Draco hates Harry Potter so much. He always keeps ranting about what a git he is.

'Let's go get our books and stuff first and then I'll show you Knockturn Alley,' says Draco pulling me along towards Flourish and Blotts. After we had bought all our books and supplies, Draco takes me towards a dark alley.

'There isn't anything much to see here though,' says Draco entering a large dimly lit shop in Knockturn Alley, 'Except this place, Borgin and Burges. You get all sorts of cool things here.'

I look around. None of the things that are displayed here for sale are what I would call cool. A glass case nearby holds a withered hand on a cushion, a blood-stained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stare down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lie upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hang from the ceiling.

'Ah Young Master Malfoy,' says a stooping old man with oily hair, 'What a pleasure to see you here in my shop this morning. And may I ask, who's this charming young lady that accompanies you?'

'My sister, Ebony,' says Draco.

'Delighted to meet your aquaintance,' says the man addressing me, 'Do you have anything in particular in your mind which you would like to purchase? Or would you like me to give you a tour of the shop?'

I look at Draco.

'Show us something that Ebony would like,' says Draco.

'Of course,' says Borgin staggering towards a a shelf on which a few dust covered boxes were piled. He took a box off the shelf and handed it to me.

I open it. The box is filled with all sorts of necklaces which have strange lockets made of human toe nails, or eyeballs.

'Ugh!' I say thrusting the box back into Borgin's hands.

After browsing through several boxes filled with similar contents, we leave the shop without buying anything.

We are walking back towards Diagon Alley when I spot Blaise in a shop at the entrance of Knockturn Alley.

'Draco,' I say suddenly.

Draco looks at me.

'That necklace,' I say.

'What necklace?' he says.

'The one with the werewolf claw, in Borgin and Burkes,' I say.

'Well, what about it?' he asks, 'Do you want to buy it?'

I nod.

'Let's go buy it then,' says Draco turning to bak into Borgin and Burkes.

'You go. i'll wait here,' I say hoping that Draco would not insist on me accompanying him back to the shop.

'Alright,' he says, 'But wait here. DOn't wander off. i'll be back in two minutes.'

I nod. Draco walks off. As soon as I see Draco disappearing into the shop, I walk towards the shop where I had seen Blaise. He spots me form the window and immediately comes outside into the alley.

'What are you doing here?' he asks, 'Are you alone?'

'With Draco,' I say.

'Where is he? I don't see him,' says Blaise looking around.

'I'm coming to Hogwarts,' I say abruptly.

'Huh?' says Blaise.

I smile.

'Really?' says Blaise his brown eyes shining. I nod.

'This is so great!' he says, 'I'm so happy!'

He grasps me by my shoulders and kisses me on the lips, sweeping me off my feet.

'You'll be in the fourth year, I suppose?' he says after he pulls away.

I nod.

'I can't wait,' he says smiling.

I look behind me. The door of Borgin and Burkes is opening.

'Go!' I say, 'Draco's coming.'

Blaise promptly disappears into a shop.

'Got it,' says Draco once he reaches me. I nod. Draco looks at me carefully.

'You look flushed,' he says.

I raise my eyebrows.

'All right then keep your secrets,' he says, 'Let's go.'

We start walking back towards Diagon Alley. I look behind me and see Blaise's face peering at me from a shop window.

He winks at me and smiles. I smile back. I never wanted to go to Hogwarts more than I wanted to now.

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	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

Its the 1st of September. Draco and I are going to Hogwarts today. I can't wait.

'Ebbie, Father wishes to say goodbye,' says Draco, 'He won't be coming to leave us at the station.'

I get up and follow Draco out of the room.

Draco knocks on father's door.

'Come in!' comes Father's voice.

Draco and I enter the room. Father looks at the two of us with a satisfied expression on his face.

'Well,' he says, addressing me, 'I hope I don't need to remind you what I have told you earlier about what I expect from you once you are in Hogwarts.'

I shake my head.

'Good,' continues Father, 'And Draco, you must take care of your sister, and see that she associates with respectable company. I want you to keep her away from mudbloods and blood traitors.'

'Yes Father,' says Draco monotonously.

'Are you packed and ready?' says Mother directing her question at Draco.

'Yes,' says Draco.

'Off you go then,' says Father.

Mother gets up, walks over to Draco and plants a kiss on his forehead. She pauses in front of me, as if she wants to say something, but then decides against it and walks off. Draco and I leave the room.

Ten minutes later, we are standing in King's Cross Station, in front of the barrier.

'Let's get going, our train leaves in fifteen minutes,' says Draco, 'You go first.'

I take a deep breath and run towards the barrier. I expect myself to crash into it, but it doesn't happen. I find myself standing on Platform 9 and 3/4. Loads of students are standing on the platform with their parents.

'Come on,' says Draco pushing our trolley of luggage forward.

'Oho!' says Draco stopping suddenly.

'What?' I ask.

'Nothing,' says Draco.

I look where Draco is looking and I see a black haired boy with a large black dog at his side.

'Who is it?' I say, 'Is it one of your friends?'

'No, that's Potter,' says Draco with a scowl.

'It is?' I say standing on my toes to get a better look at the boy.

'Come on,' says Draco. I follow him. We board the train.

'Right here,' says Draco entering a compartment in which three people are sitting; Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe and Pansy Parkinson.

'Hey guys!' says Draco, 'You know my sister, Ebbie.'

Pansy scowls at me. The two boys grunt in reply.

'We have to go to the prefect carriage, Draco,' says Pansy in a shrill voice.

'Oh I totally forgot!' says Draco clapping a hand to his forehead, 'Ebbie, I'll be back in ten minutes, you'll be fine?'

I nod. Draco leaves the compartment with Pansy clinging on his arm.

I take a seat next to the window. A few minutes later, the compartment door opens and someone enters. It is Blaise.

'Hi!' says Blaise sitting down next to me. I smile at him.

'Where's Draco?' he asks.

'Prefect's 'arriage,' Vincent grunts.

'Right,' says Blaise.

'So how come your father let you come to Hogwarts?' says Blaise.

I shrug.

'I'm glad you're here,' says Blaise squeezing my hand.

'Me too,' I say.

At that moment Draco enters the compartment followed by Pansy who is squealing with laughter.

'I swear I thought I was gonna...' Draco breaks off at the sight of Blaise and me.

'Get out!' he says to Blaise.

'What happened?' says Pansy in obvious confusion.

'GET OUT!' repeats Draco angrily.

Blaise sighs and leaves.

'I have to patrol the carriages,' says Draco with a grimace, 'Vince, Greg, you're coming?'

Vincent and Gregory get to their feet with what seems like an enormous effort.

'You come too, Ebbie,' says Draco as an afterthought, 'Since I can't trust you not to talk with Blaise once I'm gone.'

'I wanna stay here,' I say.

'No way!' says Draco firmly. I get up and follow Draco and his "cronies".

'Hey you!' says Draco stopping a small boy who was standing in his way. The boy jumps aside in fright.

'Don't stand in the way!' Draco barks at him. The boy disappears into a compartment.

When we almost reach the end of the carriage, Draco stops.

'Come on, this is gonna be fun,' he says to Gregory and Vincent.

He slides open the door of one of the compartments. I peer over Draco's shoulder. Six people are sitting inside. One of them is Harry Potter, the boy whom I had seen on the platform with the dog, with him are two boys, one is round faced and carrying a cactus like plant, and the other is freckled and red haired. There are also three girls with them, one is freckled and red haired like the boy, the other is bushy haired, and the third is is sitting dreamily by the window holding with an upside down magazine in her hand. I guess that the freckled boy and the bushy haired girl are Weasley and Granger. Draco's told me about them several times. But they look very different from Draco's friends. Somehow, they seem nicer, happier.

'What?' says Potter aggressively, before Draco can open his mouth.

'Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention,' drawls Draco, 'You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.'

'Yeah,' says Potter, 'but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone.'

Potter's friends laugh.

'Let's go, Draco,' I say pulling at his arm. Potter's friends look at me.

'Not another Malfoy!' exclaims Weasley looking vindictively at me, 'As if we didn't have enough already?'

'What about you, huh?' says Draco smirking, 'Half the population in Hogwarts is Weasley. You live like pigs rolling in shit the whole day.'

'Draco, please let's go,' I say again as Weasley raises his wand.

'You should seriously look at your own family before raising questions at others',' says Potter getting up, 'Death eater parents, and a sister who looks mentally retarded. Possibly the consequences of pureblood inbreeding.'

Draco points his wand at Potter's throat.

'Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?' says Draco.

'Shut up, Malfoy,' says Granger sharply.

'I seem to have touched a nerve,' says Draco, smirking. 'Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line.'

'Get out!' says Granger, standing up.

'Let's go, Draco,' I softly say to Draco.

Draco sniggers and leaves.

'Why were you so rude?' I ask Draco.

'Rude? I was rude?' says Draco, 'They were being rude.'

'You were rude first,' I say, 'Also, you're misusing your Prefect powers.'

Draco folds his arms and glares at me.

'Sorry,' I say at once.

'Its okay,' he says entering a compartment. I follow him.

'Who were the other three?' I ask Draco.

'The red haired girl was Weasley's sister,' says Draco, 'The round faced boy was Longbottom, and the other girl, I dunno who she was.'

When Draco tells me that we are about to reach Hogsmeade, I get up to go and change into robes. I leave the compartment and make my way towards the girl's washrooms.

On the way I bump into someone. Its Granger along with Weasley's sister.

'Sorry,' I say.

'Malfoy,' snarls Weasley.

I step aside to let them go. They glare at me for another few seconds and then leave.

_Please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I don't own HP.

Draco helps me down from the train.

'I wonder where that oaf, Hagrid is?' says Draco looking around, 'He's usually here for the first years.'

'There's an empty coach right here,' says Pansy pointing to a carriage standing some distance away.

'You lot!' shouts Draco at a couple of timid looking second years,' Out of the way!'

The second years dart aside immediately.

We climb into the coach, and the coach starts moving. Though the coach seems to be pulling itself, somehow I don't think so.

'Its probably a spell,' says Draco reading my mind.

After about fifteen minutes, the carriage jingles to a halt in front of some stone steps leading to the oaken doors of the castle. As we enter the front doors, a stern looking woman, whom I guess is Professor McGonagall stops me.

'Are you Miss. Malfoy?' she asks.

'Yes,' says Draco before I can respond.

'You need to come with me, Miss Malfoy,' she says.

'What for?' says Draco at once, 'Professor,' he adds as McGonagall gives him a deathly stare.

'She has to be sorted after we're done with the first years,' says McGonagall.

'Oh alright,' says Draco, 'You'll join us soon,' he says to me.

I follow McGonagall into the Entrance Hall where a large group of scared looking first years stand huddled together. They stare at me as I join them. Professor McGonagall leads us into the Great Hall.

The students seated at the four House Tables stare at us as we walk past them to the front. I notice that I am attracting a lot of attention, probably because I don't look young enough to be a first year. I catch Blaise's eye, and he gives me an encouraging smile.

I wonder what will happen if I am not sorted into Slytherin. Would father throw me out of the house? Surely not. Would Draco be mad at me? But, more importantly, would Blaise still talk to me?

I push these thoughts to the back of my mind as I walk up to the front, where Professor McGonagall has placed an extremely old, frayed wizard's hat upon a stool. After the Sorting Hat finishes its song, Professor Mcgonagall starts calling out the names of the first years who are to be sorted.

'Abercrombie, Euan!'

One of the boys from the group steps forward and sits upon the stool with the hat on his head.

'Gryffindor!' calls the hat loudly and the table on the right breaks into applause.

After the first years have been sorted, Professor Dumbledore gets to his feet and addresses the students.

'This year we have a new student joining us in the fourth year,' he says, 'Ebony Malfoy. I request the fourth years to be as welcoming as friendly towards her as they possibly can.'

Professor Dumbledore sits down and I step forward. I put the Sorting Hat on my head, and sit down on the stool. I can hear the Hat murmuring to itself. After a few seconds, it says in a loud voice, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

There is a shocked silence in the entire hall. Not a single student is clapping. I catch Draco's face in the crowd. The disappointment on his face nearly kills me. Professor Dumbledore begins clapping, followed by the teachers and the rest of the students.

I take off the hat and walk towards the Gryffindor table, my knees shaking. The other Gryffindors glare at me as I join them.

Dumbledore gets to his feet again and addresses the students once more.

'To our newcomers,' says Dumbledore in a ringing voice, his arms stretched wide and a beaming smile on his lips, 'welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!'

An assortment of the most delicious food appears out of nowhwere on the tables, and the students begin eating. I don't feel hungry at all. I wish I could talk with Draco and tell him that I'm sorry for getting sorted into Gryffindor.

Potter and Weasley are murmuring to themselves. They don't even bother to keep their voices down.

'Don't see how we got landed with her,' says Weasley.

'The Sorting Hat's gone round the bend,' one of the Weasley twins says, 'I mean, a Malfoy in Gryffindor!'

'This is not acceptable, Dumbledore should do something about it,' the other Weasley twin says, 'I would if I were him.'

'I wish I knew what she said to the Sorting Hat to convince it to sort her into Gryffindor,' says Potter darkly.

'Hoodwinked it by Dark magic, probably,' replies Weasley's sister grimly.

'That's not true,' I say at once.

They turn to look at me.

'Don't lie!' says Potter, 'Everyone knows that Malfoys are taught Dark Magic from the moment they are born.'

'I don't know any,' I say.

'Like hell, you don't,' says Weasley, 'Next you'll be saying that git of a brother you have doesn't know any either.'

'Don't call him a git,' I say indignantly.

'Tell him not to be one,' says one of the Weasley twins.

'I did try to,' I say without thinking.

'Huh?' says Granger.

'I'm sorry for how he behaved with you all on the train,' I say.

'Don't even try to suck up to us,' says Potter, 'You won't fool any of us.'

I don't answer.

'You should have been in Slytherin where you belong,' says Weasley's sister, 'Evil and stuck up.'

'You're calling me stuck up when that's all you all have been around me?' I say, 'Now I know why Draco hates Gryffindors.'

'Don't you dare...' begins Potter angrily.

'She's got a point you know,' says Granger.

'What!' says Weasley incredulously.

'Ron, think about it, she's only met us and all she must be thinking of is how awful Gryffindors are,' says Granger.

'We're awful?' says Weasley, 'What about her kind? The Slytherins?'

'Oh come on, Ron,' says Granger, 'She's a Gryffindor like us. And like it or not, the Sorting Hat chose her for Gryffindor, which means that we have something in common.'

'I have nothing in common with a Malfoy,' says Potter.

'You're judging her because of her family and her brother,' says Granger, 'She could be nice, for all we know. For starters, I haven't heard her call me a mudblood like the rest of the Slytherins. I'm just saying she doesn't seem as bad as Malfoy.'

'Fine then lets just give her an award,' says Weasley's sister sarcastically, ' The Not as Much of a Jerk As She Could Have Been Award.'

'I say we give her a chance,' says Granger.

'No!' say Potter and Weasley together.

'What about the rest of you?' says Granger turning to Weasley's sister and the twins.

'I dunno,' says one of the twins doubtfully.

'I think Hermione's right, George,' says the other twin.

'You can't be serious!' says Weasley's sister.

'Ginny, she's in your year, why don't you make friends with her?' says Granger as Potter sniggers.

'No way!' says Weasley's sister furiously.

'Ginny...'

'Let it be, Granger,' I say stiffly.

Granger and Weasley's sister look uncomfortably at me.

I turn my face away to look towards the Slytherin Table.

I see Blaise, but he's not looking at me. He's deeply involved in a conversation with Pansy. Draco is looking stonily at me. I smile weakly in the hope that he would return it. He doesn't smile back, but he doesn't frown either.


End file.
